THE NATIONAL SURVEY OF INDIAN VIETNAM VETERANS
TOM HOLM, Ph.D.
Abstract: Largely through the efforts of Harold Barse and Frank
Montour, Readjustment Counseling Service, a division of the U.S.
Department of Veterans Affairs, formed a working group to deal
with the simple lack of information on Indian Vietnam veterans.
Barse is founder of the Vietnam Era Veterans Inter-Tribal Association and a counselor for the Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Vet Center. Montour is a Vet Center counselor in Lincoln Park, Michigan.
The working group initiated a study of 35 Indian veterans using a
short questionnaire designed to gather information on posttraumatic
stress disorder (PTSD). Because response was excellent, it was decided
to expand both the questionnaire and the study. The final result was an
extensive collection of information on 170 American Indians representing
77 tribes or combinations of tribes from every section of the United
States. Respondents were drawn from lists provided by Vet Centers
nationwide and by the Vietnam Era Veterans Inter-Tribal Association. The
majority of respondents came from the Vietnam Era Veterans Inter-Tribal
Association. The study is demographic in nature and not inferential. While
more a survey of convenience than a random sampling, the N in the survey did include well over 100 participants. In addition, the demographic
information in the study matches closely with U.S. Census data on American Indians in general. In a comparative sense, then, the working group
survey has a great deal of validity. Most veterans surveyed were born
between 1946 and 1954 (Figure 1).
Their formative years thus were spent in an extremely disruptive
period for all American Indians. It was the era of the federal government's
termination policy and the relocation programs. These policies, in effect
designed to assimilate American Indians into mainstream American society, attempted to dissolve tribal political institutions and disperse the Indian
population into urban areas. These policies, along with the disruptive effect
of World War II, created an unprecedented movement of American Indians
from rural areas to urban centers. The migration tended to disrupt tribal
kinship patterns and, in many cases, destroy family traditions. While the
18
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THE NATIONAL SURVEY OF INDIAN VIETNAM VETERANS 19
34
23
6
4
2
77
1
1
2
1
1
1
2
..
fi
6
r
1923 '28 '31 '33 '35 '38 '37 '38 '39 '40 '41 '42 '43 '44 '46 '48 '47 '48 '49 '60
I
I.
I 1 .!
'61 '62 '63 '64 '68
Figure 1
Age by year of birth and raw number
majority of respondents (57.1%) were brought up on reservations or in
rural Indian communities, the rest spent their developmental years in an
urban environment or moved back and forth between reservations, rural
areas, and large population centers. Today, almost 42% live in urban areas
and the rest reside on reservations or in rural Indian communities off reservations. Few move back and forth between the two areas and some of the
respondents are incarcerated (Figure 2).
The respondents tended to have entered the military between the
ages of 18 and 21. Fully 62% went into the U.S. Army while 22% joined
the U.S. Marine Corps. The U.S. Navy attracted only 11% and the U.S. Air
Force 4% (Figure 3).
Reasons for entering the service (20% were drafted) varied, but
seemed to differ from those of other minority enlistees. According to
recent studies, most members of minority groups in the U.S. enter military
service for financial reasons or because they want to "better themselves"
in the larger society. American Indian Vietnam War veterans, however,
saw entering military service in a somewhat different light. While the
majority (50% ) did think financial reasons were somewhat or very important in the decision to enter the service, a larger number (61%) felt that
respect gained from the non-Indian majority in the rest of society was not
important to them. A large majority felt that such things as duty, honor,
and family and tribal traditions were important reasons for joining the
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VOLUME 6, NUMBER 1
Prior to military service (percent)
IN Post-military service (percent)
24.7
1.2
0
Reservation
Rural,
non-reservation
Urban
Combination
Prison
Figure 2
Residence
armed forces. A total of 62% thought that entering the service and fighting
a war would gain them the respect of Indian people (Table 1).
In spite of having good feelings at least some of the time about
their military service (93% expressed this opinion), their total experience
during and since the Vietnam War has been somewhat negative. While in
the military a number of them (41%) were subject to some form of discrimination. A few of them were referred to as "blanket asses" or "redskins" and nearly every one of them had been called "chief" at one time or
another during their periods of military duty. By and large they served in
nontechnical military occupations, which meant not only that they would
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THE NATIONAL SURVEY OF INDIAN VIETNAM VETERANS 21
U.S. Army
U.S. Marine
Corps
U.S.
Navy
U.S. Air
Enlisted
Drafted
Force
Figure 3
Branch of military
Table 1
Reason for Entering Service (%)
Not
Somewhat Not Too
Very
Important Important Important Important
Reason
Duty, country
44.1
31.2
13.5
11.2
Financial reasons
20.6
29.4
27.6
22.4
Respect from
Indian people
35.3
27.1
17.6
20.0
Respect from
non-Indians
15.3
23.5
25.3
35.9
Family tradition
51.2
24.1
11.8
12.9
43.5
31.8
12.9
11.8
Tribal tradition
be more likely to see combat, but that the military considered them less
able to learn highly technical military skills. In addition, despite the fact
that many of them achieved relatively high educational levels after their
military service, 46% remain unemployed.
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VOLUME 6, NUMBER 1
They also suffer numerous stress-related symptoms and suffer
from problems associated with their wartime experience. Posttraumatic
stress disorder symptoms are well studied and documented, occurring
with some frequency among Vietnam War veterans. Symptom sufferers
complain of feelings of rage, depression, spontaneous flashbacks of combat, sleep disturbance, intrusive recollection, survivor guilt, and heightened
startle responses. PTSD symptoms also seem to compound problems of
drug and alcohol abuse and often lead to an inability to maintain sound
relationships with close friends and family members. Eighty percent of the
respondents said they had feelings of depression, 76.5% had sleep disturbances, 63.5% experienced combat flashbacks, and 71.2% had experienced barely controllable periods of rage and anger. A large number (138
individuals or 81.2%) candidly stated they had mild to severe alcohol problems and almost 32% admitted to abusing drugs (Table 2).
Table 2
Problems Associated with PTSD in
American Indian Vietnam War Veterans
Resolved
Problem
Frequency
#
Type
Alcohol
138
81.2
56
Resolved Problem;
Attended Ceremonies
%
40
23
41
31.8
18
33
15
83
Depression
136
80
34
25
24
70
Sleep Intrusion
130
76.5
35
27
23
65.7
Flashbacks
108
63.5
28
26
22
78.5
Anger/rage
121
71.2
26
21.4
22
84.6
Drugs
54
Although it is apparent that most respondents to this questionnaire had depressive, PTSD and alcohol-related symptoms, it is impossible to project the prevalence of the symptoms in the Indian Vietnam
veteran population at large because of sampling considerations mentioned previously.
Those who took part in the survey admitted to relatively unstable
marital relationships; 47% of the respondents were either separated,
divorced, or had been married more than once (Figure 4).
PTSD symptoms often are linked directly to the intensity and the
amount of combat an individual experienced in Vietnam. There also is evidence to suggest that members of minority groups suffer from PTSD
more frequently and to a greater degree than do other Vietnam veterans.
Legacies of Vietnam, the 1981 Veterans Administration study of Vietnam
veterans, supports this contention. According to the study,
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THE NATIONAL SURVEY OF INDIAN VIETNAM VETERANS 23
Married
Married
(multiple)
Single
Separated
Divorced
Widowed
Figure 4
Marital status
Vietnam veterans as a group were three times as likely to be stressed as
Vietnam era veterans and the latter were twice as stressed as men who
did not enter the military. Blacks and Chicanos, at every point of stressful
experience, evidenced somewhat higher levels than whites. For black
respondents, just being in Vietnam was as stressful as being in heavy
combat for white veterans.
The reasons underlying the high frequency of stress-related problems in American Indian Vietnam War veterans are many and somewhat
complex. In the first place, there was a great deal of ambiguity for an
American Indian even to enter the military. Indian tribes in the United
States were crushed by American military might. The federal government
implemented policies under which Indians were stripped of many of their
tribal customs, ceremonies, and institutions.
Moreover, despite the original inhabitants of the land, Indians have
been pushed aside and left as one of the poorest and least educated
groups in the nation. Some reservations have reported unemployment
rates as high as 80% and education at the eighth-grade level. Yet, as Table
1 indicates, Indians enter the service because they hope to carry on family
traditions. Their fathers and grandfathers were warriors in the tribal and
national sense of the word. The realization they were serving a government
that historically betrayed their people while at the same time individually
attempting to maintain family tradition creates a great deal of tension.
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VOLUME 6, NUMBER 1
In Vietnam, Indians found themselves steeped in ambiguity. They
were in the position of fighting what some considered to be a white man's
war whereas the whites themselves, on average, seemed to suffer very
little. Said one veteran, "The white dudes stayed in school, you know, and
we (meaning Indians, blacks, and others) fought the war. They don't know
nothing about anything except what they get out of a book. But they get
the jobs." While in Vietnam several of the veterans realized that the federal government's wartime policies conflicted with their own cultural training and notions of justice. One man was made painfully aware of the
difference between his own tribal culture and modern military tactics:
We went into a ville one day after an air strike. The first body I saw in
'Nam was a little kid. He was burnt up — napalm — and his arms were
kind of curled up. He was on his back but his arms were curled and sticking up in the air, stiff. Made me sick. It turned me around. See, in our way
we're not supposed to kill women and children in battle. The old people
say it's bad medicine and killing women and children doesn't prove that
you're brave. It's just the opposite.
Another veteran saw striking similarities in the condition of Vietnamese peasants and his own people "back in the world (U.S.):"
We went into their country and killed them and took land that wasn't ours.
Just like the whites did to us. I helped load up ville after ville and pack it
off to the resettlement area. Just like when they moved us to the rez'
[reservation]. We shouldn't have done that. Browns against browns. That
screwed me up, you know.
Still another veteran was forced to take a hard look at the racial
aspects of the war. During a search-and-destroy mission this particular
man was approached by one of the Vietnamese whose home had just
been burned to the ground. The old farmer looked at the Indian soldier,
compared their skin and hair color and said, as if confused, "You-me,
same-same."
For a significant number of Indian veterans the return to the United
States was not what they had expected either. If they sought acceptance by
whites, they were disappointed. If they thought military service would bring
them opportunity, they discovered that it had only lowered their status within
the American mainstream. American veterans in general were looked upon
as either pawns or victims. Some felt as if American society, of which American Indians were only a peripheral part anyway, had sent them to war and
then rejected them for actually serving. They turned to their own people and
sought solace and healing in their own traditions.
Alienated by whites and historical federal policies toward Indians
in the first place, American Indian veterans frequently were involved in
heavy combat. Among survey respondents, 75% served in infantry,
ranger, airborne, special forces, tank and artillery units, or as door gunners in helicopters or aboard gunboats (Table 3).
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THE NATIONAL SURVEY OF INDIAN VIETNAM VETERANS 25
Table 3
Military Specialty
Ok
Infantry
38.5
Artillery
7.7
Special forces
2.8
Airborne
8.4
Armor
3.5
Aviation (rotary wing)
7.7
Aviation (fixed wing)
4.9
Ship
3.5
Gunboat
2.1
Medical
5.6
Combat engineer
4.2
Other
11.2
A significant number of respondents (42.2%) saw heavy combat,
while 31% were wounded in action — 13% were wounded on two or more
occasions (Figure 5).
The combat experience virtually assured that American Indians
would suffer PTSD symptoms in relatively significant numbers and their
alienation from mainstream America certainly compounded the stress.
There are, however, some Indian veterans who seemingly have
worked through or resolved some problems associated with PTSD symptoms. As Table 2 indicates, some claim to have resolved their alcohol and
drug problems and are working through the feelings of depression, flashbacks, nightmares, and symptomatic rages of the disorder. Even more
significant is the fact that a large percentage of those who have worked
through these problems also have turned to their own healers and have
taken part in traditional tribal honoring or cleansing ceremonies. There is,
then, a direct correlation between ceremonial participation and the resolution of problems with possible exception of alcoholism. The reason for this
exception is not clear at this time. One can only speculate that Indians
perhaps place the consumption of liquor in a different context than the
other problems — the former might be seen as a social condition while
the latter may be viewed as a spiritual problem. In any case, the connection should be explored further. It is clear that at least 64% of the respondents believe that tribal ceremonies can aid the healing process.
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26
88.6%
VIETNAM SERVICE
■
,
7 777
,
COMBAT EXPOSURE
PURPLE HEART AWARDS
M
Yes
No
SERVICE CONNECTED DISABILITY
Heavy Medium Light
N/A Wounded One
Two Three Total >60% <SO% Unknown
Figure 5
Vietnam service
Readjustment Counseling
Obviously there are a number of American Indian Vietnam War
veterans in financial and emotional need. The greatest problem for Vet
Centers nationwide is simply being able to get Indian veterans to come in
for counseling. The problem lies not only in the fact that Vet Centers, normally located in urban areas, are inaccessible for many Indians on reservations, but also that Indian attitudes mitigate against seeking help from
outsiders. It is clear that Indian veterans know about Vet Centers — 67% of
respondents were aware that a number of services exist, but only 36% of
that number actually have sought help from the centers. Of that number a
clear majority were satisfied with Vet Center services (Figure 6). Vet Centers can be of help to American Indians. Interestingly enough, the foremost
problem that these individuals were concerned with was PTSD (Table 4).
Judging from the respondents' answers to several questions,
Indian veterans are highly unlikely to seek help from government agencies.
In the first place, they display a marked distrust of the federal government
and to a great extent feel that it, along with their own tribal governments,
have not done enough to help Vietnam veterans. They feel that non-Indians
do not have positive attitudes toward American Indians or toward Vietnam
veterans as a whole. In short, American Indian veterans of the Vietnam War
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THE NATIONAL SURVEY OF INDIAN VIETNAM VETERANS 27
Ill KNOW OF SERVICES
SOUGHT SERVICES
SATISFIED WITH SERVICES
67%
64%
36%
33%
Yes
No
Yes
No
Yes
No
Mixed
Figure 6
Vet center use
Table 4
Reasons for Seeking Vet Center Services
%
PTSD
25.5
Substance abuse
10.6
Employment
21.3
Agent Orange
6.4
Education
12.8
Discharge upgrade
2.1
Violence
4.3
Combination of above
17.0
are extremely wary of non-Indian motives and federal programs. Their dissatisfaction with their own tribal government lies elsewhere.
Some Indian veterans are, however, very much concerned with
the continuity of their own tribal customs, ceremonies, and kinship patterns. Despite their feelings that tribal governments are not doing enough
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VOLUME 6, NUMBER 1
to help them, they actively participate in tribal politics. Twenty out of the
170 respondents, for example, held elected tribal office. Over 60% regularly vote in tribal elections. They remain tribal in their political orientation
and, in fact, few of them belong to national or pan-Indian organizations.
Their identity as tribal Indians is extremely important. Ninety-eight
percent of the respondents described themselves as either being culturally traditional or very much interested in keeping traditions alive. Their
principal argument with present tribal governments probably rests in the
notion that these political institutions tend to emphasize economic development over cultural preservation. A large majority (71%) indicated that
tribal governments ignore the advice of tribal elders, who, by virtue of their
knowledge of tradition, should keep the tribal identity and special interests
in proper perspective. While the majority of the respondents felt that tribal
elders were people of authority and were teachers, 81% felt that the
elders had no political power. When asked if their tribal governments were
representative of their people, 33% said no while another 33% were not
entirely sure. Their ambivalence probably reflects their concern with preserving tribal traditions and wanting to remain tribal Indians while at the
same time being critical of political institutions in general.
In conclusion, the readjustment counselor must keep in mind a
few main points about the attitudes of American Indian Vietnam War veterans and about American Indian life in particular:
1.
Indian veterans are tribal in outlook. Thus, personal relationships and
kinship patterns are very important to them. Role relationships (i.e.,
student to teacher, boss to worker, physician to patient, etc.) have little
meaning. Indian veterans will be found around other Indians.
2.
Indian veterans are either wary of or apathetic toward federal programs, government institutions, and state and local politics. They
follow tribal politics but remain critical of tribal governments. They
rarely will come in for counseling unless they are contacted personally, and shown that the Vet Center is not just another federal
program. Outreach is essential.
3. Indian veterans are proud of and very concerned with keeping traditions alive. They are respectful of tribal elders, customs, and ceremonies. They will also be critical of standard American therapeutic
methods. A healthy majority of them (60%) feel that Indians have
more positive views of Vietnam veterans than the rest of society.
Tom Holm, Ph.D.
Professor of American Studies
Harvill building
Box 8, Room 430
American Indian Studies
University of Arizona
Tuscon, AZ 85721
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